Agartala city chief dies in New Delhi

Agartala, Feb 10 (IANS) Agartala Municipal Council chairperson and a leading intellectual of northeastern India Sankar Das died in New Delhi Thursday. He was 64.Das, a senior lawyer of the Gauhati High Court, was elected to the Agartala Municipal Council and became its chairperson three times since 2000.

He was suffering from heart related ailments and diabetes.

Das had suffered a cerebral attack Jan 25 and was admitted to Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital here. Next day, he was flown to Kolkata and treated at a private hospital there before being taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi last week, family sources told reporters here.

“He breathed his last in AIIMS in the wee hours Thursday,” an official said.

A leading cultural activist of northeast India, Das is survived by his 82-year-old mother, a daughter and wife Fulan Bhattacharjee, who is herself a renowned journalist, writer and social worker.

Das’s body was brought here in the evening and a condolence march will be organised Friday. His body will be donated to the Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital here.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, leader of opposition and Congress leader Ratan Lal Nath and top leaders of all political parties have expressed their grief over his death.

The party flag of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) would fly half-mast for two days in all party offices across Tripura in memory of Das, who was a member of the Communist party since 1969.